Trust Fall
by Lucar1o
Summary: To Claire Redfield, it feels unreal that the incident in Antarctica was two months ago in 1998 but that is how long she has been living with Chris. Yet, she knows deep down that this peace cannot last since her brother's recent obsession with taking down Umbrella. This very obsession brings the siblings back into conflict against Wesker and an old friend they long thought dead.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

Trust Fall

Romance/ Adventure

Claire Redfield, Chris Redfield, Steve Burnside, Jill Valentine

Summary: To Claire Redfield, it feels unreal that the incident in Antarctica was two months ago in 1998 but that is how long she has been living with Chris. Yet, she knows deep down that this peace cannot last since her brother's recent obsession with taking down Umbrella. This very obsession brings the siblings back into conflict against Wesker and an old friend they long thought dead.

Chapter 1:

She couldn't call it a favorite past time, but Claire Redfield often found herself lingering by the missing persons posters near the bathroom of the grocery store while her brother Chris finished checking out. She liked to imagine that someday the posters all cleared out and there could be a happy ending for everyone on the board. But in the age of bioterrorism she perhaps knew that it was too hard to save everyone, let alone just one person.

Two months. With the amount of nightmares, time seemed to pass as if it was only yesterday she was surrounded by zombies on Rockfort Island. It had already been two months since Claire and her brother made it out of that frozen hellhole in the middle of nowhere away from monsters and madmen. And two months since one person had not made it out with them on that plane.

Steve Burnside.

Even with all the time that passed and chaos in the world since Raccoon City, Claire never quite forgot about Steve. She made it a kind of duty to remember the young man as he would no longer exist outside of prison number 267 on Rockfort Island. There was no headstone, and when her and Chris returned to the coliseum there wasn't even a body to bury.

No one else would remember his cheeky smile, endearing (if sometimes grating) overconfidence or quirky tendency to try and lighten the mood even if their lives were on the line. Sure he was her knight in shining armor, up until the very end…

"Claire!" A voice snapped her out of her thoughts. Chris held up a few bags of groceries. "Are you just going to stand there or help me with these groceries?" Her brother pressed something into her palm. "And it's your turn to drive home today."

Claire sighed, a small smile snuck its way onto her face. "Fine, fine." Just as bossy as she remembered. Walking through the grocery store parking lot, she had her arm around his upper arm chatting away about a movie she had watched with a couple of friends last night. It was as though nothing had changed since Chris had disappeared without a word before Raccoon City, but the younger Redfield found herself gripping his arm just a little tighter.

She had recalled a memory from when they left Antarctica behind.

"Please promise you won't leave me alone again." _Claire reached from behind and tightened the grip on her big brother's shoulder as the jet delivered them from the base in Antartica._

"I'm sorry Claire, but it's not over yet. There's still something we have to do." _Chris said, the look on his face was of a bull that was ready to charge right back into battle as soon as his feet touched the ground._

" You mean…" _Claire's heart sank deep into her stomach. She wanted to be selfish, to make him stay. She had gone through all the trouble of finding Chris just to be there when he takes off again._

"Let's finish this once and for all!" _Chris said, resolve blazing. The determination in his voice stung, but she supposed it was for the best. If there were to be no more victims like Steve then they would need to take down Umbrella._

 _Chris wasted no time in this venture. His sister knew that his partner from his old days, Jill, had teamed up with him following lead after lead, but Umbrella was a hydra: each time they got close they hit a dead end. Claire would still see her brother poring over his computer, the times he finally emerged from his room he seemed tired, defeated because he had lost another battle. Yet he was convinced he could win the war._

Without skipping a beat as soon as they got home, the older Redfield disappeared into his room. It was his sister's turn to make dinner tonight. She was in the kitchen preparing spaghetti with the new ingredients from the store and she wondered if Chris would actually come to the table. She doubted it since he had only emerged from his den a handful of times.

Claire tried to reconnect with him over meals, but he was always itching to go somewhere else. Missed parts of the conversation, eyes shifting toward his bedroom, where he could get information on a new lead. The unyielding dedication to his cause meant he was going down into the rabbit hole and Claire was stuck staring down into the abyss. Claire wanted to know where it was he was trying to go. She decided to follow him in this time. She took the bowl of spaghetti from across the table and went to the closed door down the hall.

"Chris, what are you doing in there so long? You missed lunch because you were busy and now your dinner is going to get cold. You need to eat sometime or you'll fall out." Claire called from behind the door. She knitted her brow and knew he hadn't heard her with the lack of response. The door was slightly ajar. She was more concerned with him overworking himself than his privacy, and nudged the door soundlessly open with her shoulder.

The room was soundless and dark, but as soon as she took a step a paper crinkled under her foot and the sound of rustling paper strewn across the unforeseen ground spread throughout the room. It created a sort of wind in the stagnant room, but failed to rouse Chris. She saw the computer as kind of a light at the end of the tunnel. Claire needed to go in deeper. She got close to him, wondering how to get his attention without giving him a fright. Glancing over his shoulder, she wouldn't need to contemplate that anymore.

 _Subject: Veronica virus in South America._

 _Chris,_

 _I have a lead in South America. There has been repeated sightings of a man we believe to be Wesker with a reptilian humanoid monster as a kind of attack dog. Everywhere he goes, slaughter seems to follow and in most cases the dead are coming back to life. These zombies are most likely the result of the Veronica Virus as they display the same behavior as victims of the virus. It is for this reason we believe he is dealing with a militant group known as The Holy Eagles_ _, a violent group who has grown stronger in recent years following a power struggle with another group known as the Sacred Snakes. We will start investigating tomorrow, meet me at the airport at 10:00._

 _Jill_

Wesker! and the reptilian Monster…it had to be… Steve!

Claire felt all the blood in her body dry up as a cold air ran through her empty veins.

Nothing was real.

Her hand released the spaghetti and it fell straight out of her hand onto the table. The noise was so foreign to her… so far away.

However, it was close to her brother and Chris was starled and jumped up, backing away from the danger as a réflex. The imminent danger was his own sister.

With only the glow of the computer illuminating the space between them, the older brother could not see his sister's face fully but he could feel her seething. "How could you keep this a secret from me? You and I were both there, and you know what Steve meant to me!" She lunged forward fists clenched to her sides, eyes lit into blue flames by the computer light.

"What was I supposed to do?! I couldn't put you in the way of those monsters again. I just..couldn't." Chris couldn't meet her eyes for a second, caught off guard. He had expected a reaction like that but in the deep pit of his stomach hoped she would just _understand._

Claire wasn't done with her tirade though. "So you were going to disappear again? So I'd have to go looking for you like I did in Raccoon City? If you pulled this stunt, I would have been in danger either way!"

"Claire, I am not-" Chris tried to quell the flame, but she was relentless.

"Chris, I'm not going to hold you back, you're the one who taught me how to fight, remember?"

Chris flinched, something he never did against power hungry men and monsters three times his size or even his own superiors.

She was right. Yet, for her sake he needed to stand his ground. He taught her to fight, but had never intended to have her put in a situation where she'd have to _use_ those skills. "I am not arguing with you about this! I'm not letting you go-." The exasperation dragged in his voice but sent sparks jumping off the ground like a match. Chris should have known better than to think his sister would back down. She was just as stubborn as him.

Claire walked right through the flames, getting right up in his face. " I don't care if you're letting me or not. I'm going to where Steve is and you are not going to stop me."  
And just like that she made for the door, ignoring the hulking wall between them that was her brother.

Nothing could stop her from finding Steve, she wasn't about to lose him a second time.

Chris went after her, and caught hold of his little sister's wrist before she could slip out of the door. His sister's piercing resolve sliced him like a hot knife through butter. "Claire," He breathed, defeated. He knew he couldn't stop her. She was relentless in this pursuit just like he was with his. "I'm going with you."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

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 _Chris met Claire's eyes full of raw emotion. The intensity in his expression holds her faster than the hand grasped around her wrist._ "Claire, you do have to promise me that if Steve starts to attack, you can't hesitate to kill him. At all."

 _Claire felt herself flinch ever so slightly but her brother's worry was enough to win her over._ "Okay Chris." _She saw the tension in his entire demeanor ease, his whole body relaxing along with his dead grip._ "Okay."

This was the promise she made before they even packed their backpacks and got in the car, and it attached to her mind like a balloon tied on her wrist. It constantly floats around in the back her head no matter what she did, and she knew that she was bound to it no matter how much she tried to ignore it. She stares out the window, to avoid eye contact with the older Redfield.

There were constants between the siblings. They went shopping together at the grocery store, and when Claire dragged Chris to the mall. They took turns picking movies from the video store on movie night with popcorn and way too much candy. Regular squabbling when Chris was being too much of a bossy big brother and kind of overprotective too. Most of all, they always had each other's backs. It was like this throughout the course of their lives thus far. Always close, until Chris started to drift away onto the field of battle.

Their relationship was changing though, she knew that with age and independence would come a shifting dynamic. She was growing up, and Chris didn't want to admit that his baby sister could hold her own. She wanted to stay with him, perhaps to understand her brother's stormy life that had already swept her in much to his chagrin.

Claire didn't want to be left behind anymore and kept in the dark, she wanted to be recognized as her brother's equal on the battlefield. She proved that she could fight in Antarctica, but she knew that when she had been in harm's way it scared Chris to death.

She just wanted to help him.

After a long silent car ride, the two of them reached the airport. A figure in the distance quickly took shape of a light brunette woman in jeans and a blue polo, a backpack hanging off of one shoulder. She seemed to be expecting Chris and waved to him, but she eyed Claire suspiciously.

Chris stepped out of the car. "Jill, this is my sister, Claire. She'll be helping us in this mission."

"Your brother has told me all about you, Claire. I'm Jill but I'm sure that you've heard about me before, too. It's great you're here. We'll need all the help we can get."

Jill is shocked at seeing Chris's little sister here, but suppressed her reaction and managed to keep a straight face. After all that talk about keeping her safe after the two of them survived the onslaught of the Veronica virus he was bringing her to fight against it again.

He must have his reasons she supposed.

Once on the plane, Jill reaches into one of her pockets and unfolds a huge map and begins debriefing them on their mission. She points to a tiny dot located in what looked like a forest.

"This is where we'll be dropping off. The driver I hired can take us as far as this village. It's the site where these attacks started a couple of weeks ago. I have an informant who was part of the Holy Eagles, he stole some of their weapons and has them in a safehouse for us.

Chris's partner traced a path along a long blue line that was a river. "Our path will be along this river. Since it's through the jungle we'll have to go on foot. The Holy Eagles have their base located right here, hidden behind the waterfall." The siblings watched intently, especially Claire. That Wesker was going to pay for this, for all the trouble he caused them.

After what seemed like years, the plane landed. Like Jill said there was a jeep waiting for them outside the airport and they piled inside and within minutes they were on a dirt road through a jungle thicket. The man that was taking them to the village seemed wary of its passengers. He cocked an eyebrow at the trio. "You guys sure that this is the village you want to go to? It's not exactly a place people want to go…"

"We're meeting a friend there today." Jill said sternly.

"Are you sure that your friend isn't a walking dead? They're calling that place the village of the Undead. Oooooo" The man turned back arms out reaching like a zombie. Claire and Chris in the back seat rolled their eyes, but then widened with terror.

"Watch the road!" The siblings shouted in unison.

The four of them lurched forward in their seats as the driver slammed the brakes and they almost hit a tree.

"Jesus!" The driver breathed. The four went the rest of the way in silence. The finally passed a crooked road sign and got out of the car in a dirt clearing dotted by wooden houses.

"Crazy tourists." Their ride drove off.

As soon as he did the air became stagnant. Although the sun did come through the foliage above it failed to pierce the lamination of still air that covered the town. Stalls that sold all assortment of colorful fruit seemed dull with no one running them. They imagined the marketplace would be hustle and bustle this time in the afternoon. The town square had not one soul.

The trio exchanged glances. Something was up and they were on their toes. They needed to get those weapons as soon as possible.

The address was in a nook behind a building in center square. While the inside was lit, there was no distinctly human presence on the other side of the door. Claire spotted a hunched over man in khakis and a t-shirt. As soon as they made eye contact, the younger Redfield saw his glazed animal eyes, chin dripping with blood and he made for them. A mob of other zombies stagger towards them.

The driver was right, the informant was infected and ran toward them eyes glazed but hungry for blood. "That's supposed to be our guy." Chris frowned. Jill shoves her partner out of the path of a few zombies . "Not anymore." Jill eyed the weapons in a corner in the hut. She made eye contact with Chris and he understood. Chris held off the zombies with hulking strength, threw the informant into the others while Claire and Jill slipped past into the doorway to the bag in the corner. Jill shoved her hand in throwing Claire a shotgun and a pack of shells. Jill took an assault rifle. "Let's go."

Chris only saw a hail of bullets before the zombies stopped struggling against him, and the women came out guns blazing. Jill tossed him a handgun and he barely caught it as they turned the corner.

However, as soon as they made it back into the clearing, a horde of hungry zombies were climbing over themselves for them. The center of town wasn't as still anymore as it became caked with the scent of rotting flesh.

"Looks like the welcoming party." Chris cocked the gun.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

Albert Wesker heard gunshots in the distance, but paid no heed. Despite his now superhuman strength, he didn't need to get involved with the gang wars of the Holy Eagles and Sacred Snakes only that he needed to make a deal with El Águla. Acknowledging that the gunshots were fading with the distance, he pressed on. The sound rapidly was replaced by the scrape of an axe against the ground. A wry smile crawled onto his face.

If a situation were to come to violence, he wouldn't need to do any dirty work. He could leave that up to the hunched green giant padding alongside him, asymmetric legs making thunderous quakes and, halberd rusted with blood.

The entire population of the town was closing in on Claire, Jill and Chris.

Chris didn't turn to look at his sister as they backed into the alley but put an arm out in front of her. "Get behind me."

"No can do. " she protested firmly. She asserted that as she used her brother's broad shoulder as a rest to position a rifle she pulled out of Jill's bag. She got a couple of stumbling zombies wearing green army helmets who were creeping onto them from a rooftop.

"They all have the same tattoo." Jill observed the two Claire gunned down compared to the others at their feet. The mark was a coiling snake across their chests. "The Sacred Snakes."

Jill stepped over a couple of zombies who tried to grab her legs from underneath a porch which she had kicked away. "And these look like… civilians."

Chris pointed at a couple of men with bird tattoos. "The Holy Eagles. It looks like their war with the Sacred Snakes reached all the way here and these people were caught in the middle."

The older Redfield punched a zombie, sending it flying into a group of them. "I hate to leave without sending a thank you note to the informant but we need to get out."

Jill quickly looked up from her watch. "Our informant told us Wesker was going to make the deal at 4. We only have an hour and thirty minutes until he gets there."

With the zombies starting to overwhelm them, as their bloody maws increased in number in the alleyway the panic in Claire's voice rose. "I don't know if we have the time to rush something like this!"

"Then I'll make us some." Jill gritted her teeth with the pin of a grenade in between her teeth. The device sailed over Claire's head and the three ran a distance back as the trail behind them became a pile of dust and wood.

"Come on!" She beckoned the stunned siblings. "The bridge is this way"

Leaving the town, they escaped into the thick leafy brush, footsteps made heavier by the mud but they wouldn't let that slow them down . It felt like madness, running into the forest where who knows what could jump out at them.

The company made it to a wooden suspension bridge overlooking a large canyon. No time to think, only to cross. Claire could see from below, the river seemed like a pencil thin blue line.

Yet,she had no time to be afraid of heights, on the other side the bridge began to shake with the weight of stumbling zombies. She hoped from the bottom of her heart they would have ended in the town. She aimed carefully with the rifle, and took out two zombies that stepped foot over the bridge, instead sending them sailing over the ropes into oblivion.

Sprinting, they almost made it to the middle. "It's worse than I thought." Jill frowned, yet just as she said that, two mutant frogs emerged out of nowhere shaking the sides of the bridge and blocked their way.

From behind Claire, two handgun bullets whizzed into the frogs making sure they didn't move again. However, Chris miscalculated the posts holding the bridge and snapped the ropes. Claire who was ahead of him was close enough to make it across before the thing began to fall. Chris and Jill were not as lucky though.

Jill jumped immediately, catching Claire's hand as the younger woman pulled her up.

The older Redfield sprinted as fast as he could toward his comrades who had made it onto land.

"Chris!" Claire called, holding her hand out.

Her older brother looked unsure, but with the ground crumbling beneath him he had no choice but to trust her. He jumped, catching Claire's hand.

As the three reached solid ground, a horde of tattooed undead were waiting for them. Claire took out the shotgun again, blowing a path for them to run through, but as soon as the remaining infected regrouped they estimated that it would take too much time for them to clear them out with Wesker's current position.

The siblings looked to Jill, she took out a grenade and the other two nodded.

When the second grenade went off, Chris and Jill went right and Claire's intuition sent her left. Unlucky for Claire, she continued to roll feeling panic rise when her body didn't stop disappearing over a cliff. The younger Redfield cried out as a tree stopped her fall and she fell painfully into a bush.

"Claire!" Chris called after her. But he couldn't help her, not at this moment. Not when they were to the back of their target and archenemy.

"Wesker!" Chris called, getting his attention. Wesker turned around, ear pressed to a cell phone but his voice held icy indifference.

"Chris and Jill. I have a deal to make." He snapped the flip phone closed. "Perhaps we can do this another time, if there is another time. For now, you can reunite with another friend of yours. I'm sure you'll remember him from Antarctica."

Wesker pointed toward Chris and Jill and thunderous footsteps brought out the hunchbacked monster the blonde man in the shades commanded.

From where Claire was, a hideous roar came from beyond the brush. Still seeing stars, Claire put the gun in front of her, ready to defend herself against any mutated thing that came her way.

A great wind came through the forest, but she had no idea that it was an axe was being brandished.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

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Before the mission had started, Claire had accepted that it would come to this, but she could never prepare for it.

She stared into the face of a ghost: the mutated green monster that was Steve Burnside who looked the same as when they last faced off. Although, he was more banged up from his last fight with Chris and Jill. A limp existed in his gait, and it was evident he could not wield his weapon without effort anymore.

While he retained the same appearance, there seemed to be something different about the axe wielding mutant in front of her. He swung the axe with abandon lopping down trees in his blind pursuit to eliminate anything with a human shape. Claire bounded over newly dead trees and logs just to avoid getting sliced. It was as if Albert Wesker had managed to bury Steve's humanity even deeper within the layers of glistening green scales.

Claire had a frantic thought of her brother and his partner's whereabouts not only because she was worried about them, but for herself.

She heard the pair yelling after her in the distance and she let go of a breath she didn't know she had been holding. The two had fought the monster, but deeply wounded he had fled.

Claire shakily took the shotgun in her grasp. A deep breath settled her nerves and she took the shot. The shell lodged into his shoulder and he was blown back, but it wasn't enough to bring him down.

The hulking beast looked up from the wound with only a moment of dread to see Chris and Jill charging on either side of Claire and they both shouldered the behemoth at the same time. While it would normally only be enough to knock him back the monster went backwards . A huge log was behind them and caught behind his uneven feet and he was unable to keep his footing with the injured leg. Big clawed hands swatted at air for balance but did not help. Although, the flailing limbs managed to knock his assailants off his body onto the forest floor.

"Chris. Jill! " Claire called, after her comrades who went through the air.

As the green giant tumbled backward over the log, Claire rushed him, stepping up his body like a ramp taking the opportunity to shove her black gloved hand over his face pushing him to the ground with strength she didn't know she had. In one automatic movement, the barrel of the shotgun was staring point blank between the behemoth's red tinted eyes.

All she had to do was pull the trigger and her promise to Chris would be fulfilled. With the wounded beast struggling under her, a flurry of thoughts raced through her head.

Could she do it? If she didn't, she would be risking her brother's life, Jill's life and her own. The monster that was Steve exhausted without so much as the energy to resist Claire now. Hot breaths through those overgrown teeth were growing more deep and shallow with pain. She had to make a choice though before a sudden burst of strength burst from below her any second.

Chris never broke the promises he made with her, so it would be unfair to break hers. "Oh, Steve." However, before she could end him she heard a voice.

"Claire? Claire! "A tortured warped voice croaked beneath her fingers and she felt hot tears blear against her palm. "Please… I don't… want to hurt..." but the rest dissolved into growls.

He was still human! There had to be hope, a new fire lit within her. She felt as though she was chewing on bricks with this unbelievable development, but an explosive force erupted from her throat.

"Steve!" She desperately shouts. "Fight it!" And there it was, the sudden burst of strength she had been watching out for. Claire was thrown to the ground. She recovered quickly enough to see Steve begin to move erratically, stumbling around the forest floor. He rammed himself against trees, sending birds fleeing into the sky above. A roar tears through the leaves.

"You've got to hang in there!" Claire called out but inched away, careful not to get trampled by the huge stakes of feet. The monster stumbled forward toward Claire.

He was getting too close. Claire fired warning shots and watched the horrid creature flinch. "Steve!" While edging backwards she noticed in the nick of time the waterfall wetting her back. Nowhere else to hide.

She felt a geyser of emotion well up within her and a knot forming in her chest. "We promised that we would make it out together!"

He reaches out a giant mutated hand, toward her. Instead of sprinting with death in his eyes, she watches the hand shrink down until it was ghostly pale and thin. Within a few minutes she is face to face with the boy she met that day in late December.

He met her gaze for a long moment when a pained expression washes over his face, feeling the effects of his wounds. He parts his lips to say something, but suddenly began to sway. Claire shrugged off the exhaustion of the battle to go after him, and caught him just in time. As she held him, it didn't take long for her clothes to be stained with his blood.

She saw the shadows of Chris and Jill over her, hands attempting to pull her away. She wouldn't let them.

"Is he-?" Jill began out of breath from running, but was interrupted by a sputtering.

A blue eye cracked open, focusing on Claire. "I wanted to keep my promise this time." Steve said weakly, a smile on his blood-stained lips. Claire wrapped her arms around him giving him a hug. After having focused on the fight, Claire let the tears flow.

She turned to Jill and Chris and almost tackled them down with a huge embrace. "Thank you so much." she breathed. This fight was over, but there was much more work to be done.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

Steve saw a reddish blur that formed into a young woman with auburn hair plastered onto her face from heat and combat. Her face was creased with panic and worry. As tired as he was, he reached toward her with an arm that was lit with the ember of a dull pain that existed throughout his body.

With the same raw willpower that bordered on insanity he used to fight the vicious transformation a second time, Steve would fight tooth and nail to be by Claire's side again with every ounce of strength he had no matter how little of it was left. He wanted to reassure her, just somehow let her know.

Claire hardly registered Steve's fingers had gently brushed away the sweaty hair stuck to her cheek. She was busy fumbling through the medical supplies in her backpack. Finally acknowledging the touch, she made brief eye contact with the pale mess of blood below her, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach at the dismal circumstances. It was as if history was repeating itself.

However the realization of the warmth in the hand on her face and his small strained smile reminded her that he wasn't gone yet.

"I won't let you die." She managed in a harsh whisper.

Steve's eyes fluttered closed again, Claire felt the cold wind of panic run through her , he was alive but it wouldn't be for long if they didn't treat the injuries he had just sustained and the three of them knew that. Aside from several large bruises, a couple of dire injuries needed to be taken care of.

A red gash on the teen's back back oozed hot blood like a lava flow caused by Chris's combat knife when the older Redfield snuck up on him from the ground when Jill had been pinned against the tree by the great halberd.

A second laceration existed on his thigh, as Jill had finally regained her senses and got back into the conflict. Full of raw adrenaline from the near-death experience, she had plunged her combat knife into his leg tearing into his thigh until a roar ripped through the air.

In pain, the wild beast was acting purely on its own instinct and had yanked the axe out of the tree, freeing Jill but swinging about wildly and the battle raged on until he managed to backhand Chris into a tree rendering the older Redfield unconscious long enough for the mutant to escape while Jill was helping her partner.

He had been injured quite badly in the fight for their lives, but the green herb paste and armor of gauze the team had built around his wounded back and thigh made sure that the self proclaimed knight's life was out of danger for now.

With the former monster resting on Chris's back in a piggyback. Chris turned toward his friends. "Wesker couldn't have gone too far. I think we still have a chance to catch still have thirty minutes until he makes that deal!" Mentally bracing themselves for the thicket ahead, the band pressed on deeper into the jungle.

The tropical environment of the forest had made sure that the virus could thrive out here, and it seemed as though any bush or tree could be rustling with infected life. The sound of zombies moaning carried through the wind made Claire tense through she steeled heat in the jungle made it feel as though everything on her body were sticking to her, hours of combat without a break was starting to eat through her adrenaline, and she had no idea when their lives would end. She accepted that helping her brother in his pursuits was not going to be easy.

They went along the path of water, backtracking to where Claire had fought Steve. As soon as they reached the waterfall, as Claire had predicted, the band met resistance with the giant zombie frogs appearing out of the water followed by the Holy Eagle zombies stumbling out of the brush.

Jill remembered the informant had told them there was some kind of switch that would get them behind the waterfall, but they would need to find it fast. As soon as she shared that information with Chris and Claire, the siblings made sure that defending Jill was their top priority while she looked for the switch.

"Time for a little swim." Chris said knocking some of the zombies into the swift current. Claire took out a couple of frogs when a few thin creatures with bird skulls swung out of the trees.

Their trilling sounded as though someone was running a sharp rock down a violin string. Claire darted back as they swung at her, but bumped into Jill.

The older woman who had been feeling up and down the rocky face, tumbled a bit and grabbed onto the wall instinctively. The bit moved under her palm. A huge boulder that was beside the waterfall edged to the side creating a tiny passage large enough for Jill to crouch into.

Jill darted into it, realizing the passage for what it was and beckoned her friends along toward it. Chris handed the unconscious Steve over to his partner and squeezed into the passage himself with much effort.

Claire cleared enough zombies for him before going in herself. Keeping her shotgun pointed at the opening. The zombies were following but not at a quick enough pace. Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel transform into a luxurious white villa, tucked away in a dark cavern. Jill and the Redfields were sure they had time to catch their breath.

Before they could, one of the wire frame bird skull creatures had twisted itself through the hole and shrilled after them. Her body reacted on reflex, and before she knew it she had kicked the thing away into the darkness.

"Please let that be all of them." Claire prayed, and followed her brother and his partner into the clearing.

"Talk about a secret base." Jill said in a sick awe.

"I'm sure it houses some super villains. We have one we need to catch." Chris responded. The deja vu was a little much, but they had to go after Wesker.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

* * *

The pristine white villa stood out eerily in the horrors they faced moments ago. The party exchanged glances, reluctant to go into another creepy mansion but found themselves at the front door regardless. Standing close to the carved wood they noted it was decorated with a feather motif, Claire could hear noise at the other side. The vicious banging was barely contained by the barrier of ornate wood. Claire felt the metal of the shotgun in her hand. She reloaded the it in the prior moments when she had a chance to breathe, and felt a vague comfort.

As the pounding increased in volume, the tension of the group magnified while wood chips flew at them. Thus a choice remained: to be attacked by whatever lurked on the other side or put holes in the monsters first. A rotting hand punched through the place blasting wood at them. Chris sent a bullet through the hole silencing a couple of moans from camo jacketed zombies.

While nothing burst through the door at that second, it was near impossible to tell how many virus carriers crowded the door. Claire was about to reduce whatever number that was when she shoved the barrel of the gun through the hole, pulling the trigger as something took hold. After a few rounds the banging stopped momentarily.

Taking advantage of the silence, Chris and Jill rammed the door open. This led them to a minty green carpet stained by blood. A golden rail separated two diverging staircases into a box around the top floor, a third went straight down into a black floor below. El Águila's minions were closing in on all sides.

"Looks like El Águila really knows how to welcome his guests." Claire grimly said, cocking her shotgun again. Among the portraits of what she could assume to be the crime lord's ancestors, On the other side she spotted a dark box room with a see through window, a control pad was untouched. Jill motioned for them to go to it. With the knowledge she received for the mission she knew it was the way they were going to unlock the secret bunker in the middle of the room.

They made an agreement to all swerve right, staying close to the wall and fending off the a horde of zombies that were trying to pry them off the wall knowing that completely squeezing past them would be impossible but with the time constraint they had no choice but to rush. The way seemed like forever with the undead clogging the way. When they finally made it to the end, Claire and Chris fended off the zombies as Jill threw herself into the control room and her two partners followed. The door wasn't going to hold too long and as soon as a hand came through the wood the siblings were on the defense again.

The control room suddenly came alive with the sound of fluttering moth wings attracted to the glow of the control panel. The trap caught Jill off guard and she soon found herself flailing her knife around to kill the overgrown insects that flocked toward her. Chris rushed to help her, his shooting wild and desperate to assist his partner.

Claire, in turn had to pick up her brother's slack. She could tell by a quick glance that he desperately wanted to protect her even now, but she was going to hold her own this time Claire shot a zombie and kicked it into the others so they tumbled down the stairs onto the others, then pushed one over the railing as it managed to advance behind her towards her brother.

The older Redfield seeing that his sister was out of danger, was able to take out the rest of the moths and Jill, without wasting a second, Jill took to the control panel but soon felt her stomach drop realizing it was some kind of puzzle. She had to fumble around with the buttons as the mob of infected continued to advance. The ground rumbled under them, and it attracted the horde above. It led to a staircase leading down from the black box into the dim place below. The band was being pursued as soon as they hurried down.

Spotting the thin bird creatures again, Claire groaned. "Not again." They descended from the railing surrounding them. The huge hooks flying through the air at them were like tridents, and Claire shot at them in mid air far as they pounced.

Jill had time cross her mind. Ten minutes until the deal. She pushed Claire and Chris forward and she took out a sinewy bird.

"You guys keep going! I got it handled down here!" She nodded at the siblings in reassurance and the two looked at each other and unsteadily nodded back.

The basement was actually a dining room. It contained a dimly lit dining table in the center of the room and cabinets of china around. It reminded Claire of a couple of those mafia movies she's seen a while back. The men seated around whipped around to the pair who dared disturb their meeting.

"It seems more were sent by Javier Hidalgo to kill me..."

Before Chris or Claire could interject, the tall burly man in an eagle mask, only assumed to be El Águila himself, got up from the head of the table and produced a syringe. Immediately injecting the Veronica virus into his body, he suddenly began to gasp for air. The Veronica virus was taking effect. Throughout the facility echoed a sickening crack of the crime leader's body becoming augmented into a monstrosity by the virus. The Redfield siblings felt the same emotion at the same time: a sickening despair at the sight of a behemoth before them. Their stomachs twisted at the revolting sight. El Águila became true to his name.

From the crowd emerged a giant eagle about four times larger than Chris, but with a vortex of tentacles writhing out of its back. Through his newly formed beak, he screeched in a low warped voice. "With this power may we wipe out the Sacred Snakes once and for all!"

The gathered soldiers cheered at the present madness as they took their matching syringes of the virus and injected themselves simultaneously writhing in pain for a few short seconds before lunging after the Redfields.

El Águila circled overhead like a vulture, but proceeded to attack when he witnessed his subordinate's Claire needed her gun the most, the trigger wouldn't pull. She cursed loudly to herself with the constricting revelation that her gun had jammed. The curses turned into a scream as tentacles from the creature's back constricted it's victim as it took flight.

Claire nearly lost conscious with the violent and sudden change in elevation. Lightheaded, she struggled weakly against the restraints holding her. Wrestling one hand free, she reached around her belt to feel out the shape of her knife. Gripping the handle, she slashed at the tentacle holding her causing the monster Eagle pain.

It did not let go though and in turn let out a screech when it flew toward the wall of the basement, slamming Claire against the cabinets of china before dragging her on it. Claire let out a cry at the new and sudden pain. She was reminded of the roadburn the time she fell off her motorcycle when she was first learning to ride, the fabric giving way to flesh and the glass stabbing into her. Nevermind, it was a million times worse. Gritting her teeth, she refused to let go of her . A hail of bullets whizzed past Claire bringing her attention to Chris who was trying to free her from the ground.

"Claire! " Chris felt his heart leap into his throat as the Eagle voice swelled and it flew up into the air taking his sister with it. It got at Chris with sharp talons, which he shot at causing them to shrink away.

A green appendage wrapped around his wrist and with a bang he almost hit Claire. Horrified by the fact he almost shot his sister in his careless, he stopped in his tracks.

However, while he was distracted by that, the mouth of the monstrosity was going to swallow Chris whole as the captor and victim neared him. Chris was staring into the void of the huge pink tongue about to devour him until it suddenly stopped.

Blood dripped onto the metal below as the beast veered to the right, tumbled to the ground away from the older sibling. Claire was victorious reclaiming her knife from the top of the eyeball on its back. Chris's jaw dropped, as she staggered toward him, her shoulder staining her pink biker jacket a deep maroon. Claire held her breath as the giant bird twitched on the ground, but as the muscles finally relaxed, so did Claire and her brother.

She saved him once again. The siblings exchanged knowing glances. Chris was the first to speak, he put a hand on her head. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Claire." His sister, as exhausted as she was, grinned at that.

It didn't last for long when a voice reverberated throughout the place. "Self Destruct system activated. 30 minutes until destruction. Please evacuate the proximity immediately. "

In the distance Jill waved toward them. She was dirtied with blood from her own battle and looked about ready to fall over but hobbled over to her friends.

"Where's Wesker?" Both parties breathed at the same time. The hated man in shades was nowhere to be seen, not where Jill had searched in the villa or in the basement.

In the back of his mind, Chris knew that the deal had been made when he caught sight of the giant dead eagle. Chris felt his chest tightening until he erupted with a loud yell of frustration. Jill put a hand on his shoulder and he saw her shake her head. They didn't have time to search anymore. This place was going to blow.

Chris grit his teeth as they got going . For him and Jill it was always back to square one.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

* * *

It was the nights where Steve had especially good dreams were way worse than when he had nightmares. Because, when he wakes up there's an emptiness: an aching sensation for his mind to stay in that bliss.

Whether it's a memory of laughing around the fireplace with his family with a mug of hot cocoa, a warm embrace from his parents that aren't here anymore or how his cheeks would flush when Claire looked at him , he would inevitably be roused awake in that clunky asymmetric body that was no longer human and it was always so cold.

He never knew where he was, but one constant drove him up the wall. The first thing he would see upon opening his eyes was that blonde man whose eyes were always hidden behind those damn shades.

He recalled the first time he gasped awakened since his "death". A room of pure white obscured bt the barrel of a gun shoved in his face. A sly comment from the man in the sunglasses about how when he had taunted Claire about Steve coming back to life, he hadn't genuinely expected it. And something about how this new development as "useful"

He had come to hate that man, and wanted nothing more than to rip his damn eyes out with his rakes of claws. Yet, he never quite got the chance considering he was always injected with whatever the hell that was which made him go under again where he wouldn't be conscious enough to bring his inhuman body under his own control. What happened next he would never know, only that it filled the teen with an unexplainable sense of guilt and deep dread that the process would only repeat. Waiting. Waiting. Dread and waiting.

On Rockfort Island, he tried not to get too close to anyone. There were many prisoners who disappeared forever behind the wooden doors or into the infirmary. And while he tried his best to believe that he was invincible somehow, he was in constant fear that he would be one of the ones who didn't come back.

When he closed his eyes to recall, the howls of pain and terror that abounded. Whether it was experimentation, the guillotine or other sick torture Steve decided it was best to block those thoughts from his memory. His mind wandered to how his own mother was pried away kicking and screaming from her son before they gunned her down right in front of him in the living room as he came home from school.

The train of thought came to the father he had to kill in order to save his friend. When that memory halted it ended at the thought that there was no one left who he could rely on. It brought a deep longing ache that manifested into tears.

Now he was waiting to wake up from this dream too. The one where Claire came back for him,and the life given back to him by the Veronica virus would no longer feel like a curse.

Silence. He wasn't sure how to feel about an unknown like that. Strangely enough, he felt safe. Another dream maybe? But this one wasn't from any pleasant memory he could recall.

Steve awoke to milky sunlight filtered through a smudged plastic window and the soft murmurs of grunge music reverberating next to him. This setting seemed so foreign to him, from his time spent in the prison to his days as a prisoner in his own body.

Very disoriented, he had to sit back and absorb it all for a little bit. The plush under his hands was the sofa bed, facing a small tv. He hadn't even turned, but he knew. His red haired angel. His movement earned a small gasp from her, yet she caught her breath. "Good morning, Steve."

"Claire!" His eyes glistening with tears as he lunged over the arm of the chair and wrapped his arms around Claire almost knocking her off the chair.

Words could not even begin to express what either of them were feeling at the moment. So the great reunion was just them holding onto each other for a long while. The only sound either of them could hear was their sobbing tears of joy and reveling in their heartbeats.

Reveling in the fact they both survived to see each other.

"Looks like we're both wearing Chris's hand me downs." Claire noted.

The pale yellow t shirt with a bass imprinted on the front he was wearing was a little big for him, as were the gym shorts. Claire herself was wearing a plain white tee and shorts that were just a little baggy.

The mention of Chris reminded Steve of the man he never actually met, who rescued Claire after he 'died'. "Where is your brother?"

"Oh," Her expression dampened for a second, annoyance hid in the corner of her voice. "He had some business to attend to."

And by that she meant running off with Jill again on some other top secret mission while she was out of fighting condition for the time being.

Although, it wasn't all bad. Chris promised that she would bring her next time and by the way he said it, her brother had meant it.

"Oh," Steve was all the redhead could say in response. It was just the two of them in the apartment.

To break the somewhat awkward silence he piped up, eyeing the thick padding of bandages over her right arm. "How's your shoulder?"

"It hurts, but I'll live." Claire shrugged. It didn't seem like too much of a big deal, but Steve's uncomfortable shift at the response seemed to ask "Did I do that to you?" Claire answered without him having to ask. "Chris and I killed the guy you and Wesker were working for."

"How's your back and leg?" Claire turned the question around. He hadn't thought about it too much, but his stomach growled.

"You must be hungry. I'll go get some meatloaf from the fridge." And with that, the two found

themselves at the table.

He didn't have too much to talk about, but he liked hearing how her life has been going since Rockfort and Antarctica. She was back at college, and she talked about mundane things. She had movie nights of B-rated horror films with her friends and liked riding her motorcycle around town. It was relaxing, just hearing someone's day. Kinda like when his mother used to ask him how his day was after school-

And this was the first time they really got to talk since the plane ride off Rockfort Island. It was nice.

"Want to watch a movie?" Claire asked after all the dishes were in the sink.

"Sure. What'cha got?" Steve shrugged.

"I got the old Night Of The Living Dead. It's a classic!" Claire beamed.

"Zombies? Really? As if we don't get enough of those everyday." Steve frowned.

"Have you ever seen Titanic?" She suggested instead.

"Nope." He said.

"Perfect. I'm going to make some popcorn then,"

The two finished the movie in comfortable silence, enjoying each others company, until Claire piped up. "You look kind of like Jack."

"Really? You think I'm that good lookin'?" He beamed a winning smile, a hint of seriousness in his voice.

She met his eyes. Considering the question a little too long. "Wouldn't go that far. " She teased finally, a mischievous smile stuck on her face. He sighed. A flash of the old Steve was back.

Suddenly, a large cockroach roach emerged from under the couch.

"Claire… uh behind you." Steve edged toward the arm of the sofa bed.

"Nice try, but you're not going to get a cheap scare-" Claire rolled her eyes.

"No, like in real life." Steve interjected, nervously backing up as the roach neared Claire.

"Oh god! It's huge!"Claire scuttled backwards. Even through immense pain, Steve was able to summon enough energy to scramble away from the roach to an unsteady stance. Eyes scanning for something to kill the thing. He grabbed a shoe that was on the floor as soon as the thing disappeared under a pillow that had fallen to the ground in the initial panic.

Creeping up to the pillow, he swatted the pillow out the way and before Claire could even trace his arm it swatted the bug ensuring its death.

"We faced bigger things than this back in Antarctica, don'tcha think?" He turned to her for approval, beaming their victory. Posing with the shoe as if it were the pair of gilded Lugers.

"I've had enough stupid creepy bugs to last me a lifetime! Ugh! That was disgusting!" Claire spat. A small smile snuck onto her face.

With that excitement over, the two sank back onto the pillows.

"I can't believe this is all real, that it isn't a dream. It just feels too good to be true." Steve sighed, relief in his voice but tinged with a bitter taste of melancholy.

"You think I could forget about you?" She accused, but in her usual joking tone. Yet, she didn't quite realize she struck a nerve until it was too late. The elephant in the room was finally making itself known.

"I-I don't know!" A firecracker in Steve sparked suddenly, slamming his fist onto the bed. The despair and anger crackling out at the question, like sodium submerged in the deep water of painful memory."I don't know." He said again, quietly. "The man with the sunglasses, he said you survived. So, E-every day… I hoped you would come back, b-but at the same time I… knew it was useless." Each painful moment poured out of him and it was getting harder to speak, the dam of pain kept the sound in his throat. "Y-you saw me fucking die! But.. if you did… find out I was alive... I was scared shitless...I was a fucking monster! And I didn't want to be forced to kill you!"

"I have this feeling that when I go to sleep, tomorrow I'll be in the jungle again in god fucking knows where! And all of this, it'll be a dream! " His voice quiet, but chipped thought clogging his throat but then got very quiet. " And you'll be gone." His face screwed up again, lost in his thoughts. It was too soon.

"Oh god, Steve. I'm sorry." She put her hand on his shoulder, but he did not react.

She was silent for a long minute, then took his bandaged hand into hers, squeezing it tight. She met his eyes, stern and reassuring like her brother when they were younger and she was crying over a scraped knee. Although, this wound would take so much more to heal. "I'll still be here in the morning. Trust me."

"Never let go?" He hiccuped, although she could tell he was feeling a little better already.

She winked with a chuckle. "I'll never let go, I promise."

A wave of embarrassment washed over the young man, having let himself lose his cool like that in front of Claire. He wiped his eye with the back of his hand. "Okay."

And with that, Steve let himself go to sleep again, fingers intertwined in Claire's.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Sorry I haven't been able to update for a while. I've just been very busy lately.

Please Read and Review!

Standing over the morphed bodies of nameless crime organization members just made Chris feel empty and sick. He and Jill just didn't have time for this. His stomach felt light as if there were a raquet ball bouncing around inside, and he felt a little dizzy from the excitement. They were ahead of schedule and, for sure they were going to catch the rat bastard this time. Jill reloaded her gun and met Chris's eyes. They both nodded.

Near the end of the LED lit corridor littered with slain monsters was the shadowy figure clad in black leather. Chris did not skip a beat. Fists like rockets, he sprinted toward that hated figure ready to run him down while he wasn't looking. But Albert Wesker's superhuman senses allowed him to avoid the tackle, although just barely.

Chris could see Wesker's eyebrow raise ever so slightly behind his sunglasses as he rushed past him. The full force of Chris's body went forward from the missed punch that would have knocked a few teeth out of a normal person. The older Redfield stumbled back to face Wesker who had a smirk of half amusement. Chris heard the click of a gun next to him, and saw Jill pointing the laser pointer of her gun at Wesker's forehead. She didn't hesitate in taking a shot, but with his speed, he dodged the shot with a mere tilt of the head.

"Oh, you're still alive." Wesker said, disappointment in his voice betraying his unchanging expression. "I was sure that my attack dog would have been able to kill you."

Chris threw another punch, missing the target again, who in turn punished Chris for his mistake with a swift kick to the back. Gunshots from Jill echoed throughout the walls, as she covered Chris so he could get back up. Chris did so quickly, but jumped back quickly to avoid getting stomped on by a hard black boot.

As though he weren't being shot at, Wesker continued his explanation. "Steve is the first BOW I've been able to control. The first successful experiment I've had. I need to get him back for more research, so I can build my empire."

Tired of the charade, he finally caught one of Chris's punches and was pushing back against the fist with little effort. Jill shot at Wesker several times and he let go to avoid the bullet, jumping back several feet as if gravity meant nothing. The setting changed to a soiled lab. No doubt the source of those BOWs.

Chris closed the distance before he could get away and the two squared off again. "Empire? What the hell are you talking about?" The older Redfield demanded.

"In time, you'll all know the truth." Was all Wesker said in response, before producing a gun of his own. Chris pulled out a rifle and bullets flew between the two of them, as they raced and ducked about the bloodied gurneys. Chris pushed one of the gurneys at Wesker, but he dodged expertly although it was just a distraction.

Chris charged at the other man using an IV pole to spear at his enemy. His effort was enough to knock off Wesker's glasses, revealing his slits of eyes. Chris grinned after managing to knock Wesker in the head, but his excitement was short lived when his mortal enemy caught the end of the pole and yanked it out of his hand.

This development stunned Chris just long enough for his nemesis to throw the pole back at him sideways, and the older Redfield was thrown back into another gurney from the sheer force.

As Chris staggered up to his feet again, he suddenly felt too winded and fell onto one knee. Wesker began to talk. "And, In case you didn't know, I've had a tracking device inside Steve, so I've been tracking his movements and thus yours, for this whole time." Wesker said cooly. "It's always smart to put a chip on your pet so it doesn't get lost. My agents are already on their way to go get him."

Chris's eyes widened, his mouth opened in a silent "No!" As Wesker left the room. Eluding Chris yet again.

"Shit." Chris's brow furrowed. He stopped there dead silent, letting it all sink in for a minute. "Damn it!" He had to get to the nearest payphone and call home, to tell Claire to get out of there.

Before he set off, Chris was well aware that Veronica Virus in Steve's body there was a ticking time bomb in his home. it would be difficult to leave Claire's friend unattended unless that problem was taken care of.

Even with Steve's injuries, the hospital wasn't an option, running the risk of the virus taking hold there, or maybe Chris wanted to spare Claire's friend the fate of becoming a lab rat for the government.

Yet, he didn't want that kind of danger in his own home either especially with Claire there. Now with Albert Wesker's agents on the way to his apartment, Chris had more trouble than ever before. As for Steve, he became another person who could not escape Umbrella.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

* * *

 _Everywhere to run suddenly turned into nowhere as the endless thicket transformed into a wall of rock just as Steve's furtive hope for escape morphed into despair. Cornered in the jungle, Steve was more mouse to the smaller Wesker in the distance. Even as mutant, Steve still found himself bracing for impact as the black gloved fist went across his face with enough force to bring the green giant backwards into the hard surface. Steve's crimson eyes squeezed shut as he slid down the rocky face. His enormous body was throbbing, but he never forgot the imminent danger._

 _He didn't look up to avoid making eye contact with at the man in sunglasses, he cringed at the sound of a low growl like barbed silk._

" _Have you forgotten Steve? Every time you run, I'll find you. " Wesker said, the needle clutched in his fist. "Claire can't save you. Even if she comes, you'll kill her for sure."_

" _Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Steve backed away until the rock hugged his back, vision blurred with the glint of tears of frustration, anger, hatred, and most of all: Fear. Scared of what was going to happen, what he was going to be made to do._

 _He emitted a low guttural growl, he made up his mind to fight._

 _After all, no one else was coming to save him. His three claws tightened, but around another hand instead of his huge reptilian hand. As the jungle began to collapse into spots of darkness, he realized that the hand in his was the person who had come back to save him._

Steve woke with a yelp, drenched in sweat, heart pounding and forgetting where he was. He ran a hand through his brown hair, then had the sudden urge to inspect it.

Normal sized, five fingers on each hand,and non reptilian.

This was going to take some getting used to. He took in a deep breath and glanced over. Claire was still asleep on the armrest, her head in her one elbow. A small smile of relief came to Steve, that his nightmare hadn't woken her up too.

With their hands still intertwined, Claire had kept her promise the previous night. And for that, he was eternally grateful.

Claire suddenly began to stir, she peered from over the arm at Steve and sleepily murmured. "Good Morning, Steve."

"Mornin' Claire." He smiled, although somewhat absentmindedly.

"What's up? You look like you've seen a ghost." Claire frowned.

"It's nothing." Steve didn't meet her eyes. He didn't want to talk about it.

"C'mon-" Claire said.

"Really, it's nothing!" He said. Although with a little more force than he intended, which was sure to give way to concern from the younger Redfield. He sighed, the lingering fear in his voice betrayed him. There was the warped air of apprehension, as he flinched internally. He was waiting for her to say something.

This time she let him go instead of pressing. "I'm going to make some breakfast." She got up from the chair next to the couch.

"Let me, actually." He said, taking his time rising from the couch.

"Are you sure?" Claire said, eyeing the elastic wrap around his sprained ankle.

"Yeah, it's the least I can do." He insisted.

"Alright, I'll go put on some music." In her room, a heavenly smell wafted from the kitchen.

"Bon Appetit" Steve did a little bow, his best imitation of a gourmet chef setting pancakes on the table and pulling up a chair across from Claire. He watched her eyes light up as she tried them.

"These is really good!"Claire eagerly took another spoonful. "Thanks!"

"Aw, it's nothin'!" He blushed. And with soft guitar in the background, they enjoyed the quiet film of morning.

Claire heard a low beeping from another room, and fumbled out of the chair. "Damn it! I thought I had enough time. "

It was later than she thought.

"Where are you-?" Claire cut him off when she tossed him a pair of jeans and a sleek black biker jacket had "Ride or Die" imprinted on the back in a bold font, and fit snugly against him.

"C'mon," She beckoned. "I'll explain on the way there."

Steve barely positioned himself on the back of the motorcycle before it roared out if the alleyway whirring into the gray sky city streets.

Sherry Birkin, at only 12, had lost her parents to bioterrorism much like Steve, so in some ways she was somewhat of a kindred spirit to him.

A government lab rat of the G Virus, one of her only visitors was Claire Redfield. The Redfields had spared him that fate by bringing him back to the apartment . He was grateful for being freed, from prison, from Antarctica and from the jungle.

Freedom.

The first taste of carefree air on the back of Claire's motorcycle was something close to a spiritual experience. It made him think of, how in the movies, the clouds part after a storm and the sunbeams shine through. He took it all in, taking a mental snapshot with his whole body.

The wild untamed roar of the motorcycle as it tore across the pavement, wind through his hair, and the stinging biting cold on his cheeks and the way the air stuck in his throat.

It froze him in pure bliss. He dare not touch the thought that anyone take this away from him again.

The motorcycle pulled up to a drab looking office building, that spoke to Steve as somewhere you would only come to work.

Nonetheless, a warm smile appeared on Claire's face. "Here we are."

The building led to a huge open lobby and was overwhelming ,with so many professionally dressed people buzzing about. Steve felt instantly out of place here, Claire took hold his sleeve and dragged him out of his awe before a metal detector and some men in black suits.

There was another man among the black suits, with light brown hair and a beard. On his shiny silver suit Steve caught a nametag that read "Derek C. Simmons".

Steve hadn't the time to read anything else, but could tell that he didn't want to know anything else by the sort of slimy vibes he gave off when he greeted Claire. "Ms. Redfield."

Claire seemed to feel that too and regarded him with the same caution. "Mr. Simmons. This is my friend, Steve."

While she could feel Steve was kind of nervous, she had done this a million times. They got visitor tags and one of the men along with Simmons led them down one of the numerous hallways and onto an elevator.

They descended into the bowels of the building, and Steve wasn't sure how long it would be until they reached their destination. The elevator stopped with a low rumble, and opened up to a familiar scene that made the both of them cringe internally. It was a lab all coated in white.

It gave Steve some bad deja vu. The two were guided down an LED lit hallway to a cold lonely metal door. Their guide opened the door with a special code, as if some dangerous criminal was on the other side of the door.

When it opened it revealed a little girl whose only crime was getting involved at all. Sherry attached herself to Claire and hugged her with as much strength as her small body could hold.

"I missed you so much!" She bawled.

"I missed you too, Sherry." Claire put a hand on her head, and slightly guided her back into the room away from Simmons' calculating eye.

The room was too cramped for three people, and felt distinctly like a hospital room. It was mostly barren aside from some hung up drawings around the place. There was a photograph of Sherry and Claire on the bedside table.

Sherry looked up at Steve who she hadn't even noticed in the room.

Claire pulled back from the long embrace and put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "This is Steve. Steve, this is Sherry."

"Is he your _boy_ friend?" She said with an almost accusing inflection.

Claire and Steve looked at each other taken aback, but not enough for Sherry to notice. They tried their hardest to break eye contact.

Claire took longer than she needed to answer. "Oh uh.. no. We met on Rockfort."

"Oh!" Sherry said with sudden recollection. "That Steve? I thought you said he died."

"I can explain, I have another adventure to tell you about."

And as Claire began to explain this tale of danger and excitement, Sherry's face lit up in awe as if she were listening to the unbelievable feats of a superhero. As soon as she was done with her story, Claire heard a slight knock at the door. It was Simmons. While Sherry looked absolutely enchanted by this tale of bravery, she turned to Steve.

"She really helped you turn back to normal! Wow." She said eyes sparkling. " That's like that movie,"

Claire laughed. She said something in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah." Steve didn't snark back. He was secretly a little ashamed about the whole ordeal but had something else on his mind entirely. Wesker, and that dream, from last night. _Every time you run, I'll find you. Claire can't save you._

Simmons called Claire's attention after the story was done and they were engaged in commonly named "adult talk".

With the two of them alone in the room, Steve asked something he shouldn't have, but was pressing on his mind. "Don't you think, with all these dangerous missions… she might not come back one of these days?" The dream and his past experience dripping doubt onto his own words, wondering aloud again.

"No! She always comes back!" Sherry protested loudly. There was part anger and a little bit of fear., "She can do anything, because she's stronger than Superman!" and after the girl began to detail more of Claire's fantastic feats from Sherry in their adventures in Raccoon City.

"Hell yeah! She can do anything." Steve smiled, realizing his mistake. He needed to have more faith in his friend.

And like that, they started taking turns naming impossible feats Claire would be able to accomplish, from lifting cars to defeating zombie aliens by flying into space.

Sherry was just glad that she had gotten someone else to believe in her hero.

Simmons finally let Claire go, but just like that, visiting hours were over. Sherry said goodbye to them and told her new friend to come back and visit soon.

Meanwhile, miles away, shaky jello hands jammed another quarter into the payphone hoping that he could just somehow reach Claire before she got home. What could happen to her if she didn't know…

Jill held her stern exterior, but Chris could sense ripples of panic hidden in her. Chris growled desperately into the receiver. "Claire, c'mon. Pick up! Pick up!" Jill let go of a breath. "Chris, I'm sure she'll be okay. You saw her out in the field. You just have to trust her."

Chris sighed in defeat, he saw her handle herself first hand after all, but only time would tell.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please Read and Review!

* * *

While the whole meeting had left all of them in a pretty good mood, Steve couldn't help but feel an underlying pity.

Like Claire, he felt bad about how she was kept in captivity like that. But unlike his friend, he didn't care if it was the "good guys" who had her there.

Sherry was a person like Claire or him or anyone else. She was thinking and feeling. She didn't deserve to be some "object" as dehumanized like Steve was by Wesker for those two months.

Being tested daily like that was akin to torture, he knew. Wesker had his scientists implement plenty of cruelties during the time after he awoke suddenly that day, and after the whole "field test" he was due for more Veronica Virus research. When researching the effects of the virus, some of the tests he remembered, others he did not. None of them he wanted to talk about.

As much as he wanted Sherry to be able to go free, he knew that it was because of the G virus that she could not. When she talked had been given the G virus vaccine, it did not fully cure her and she was being kept away from society for fear of what the remnants of the virus might do. The young girl only seemed to talk about the benefits of it, like its regenerative healing capabilities.

The thought was his balloon tied to his wrist. Claire told him that she and her brother were working with several people on a solution. Like Sherry, he had been able to retain his human appearance and at the same the virus had not killed his brain cells, but for how long?

The Veronica virus was in his system and while it was dormant at the moment, there was always the thought of something or other triggering a transformation into… that. Would he be able to control it? Would Claire have to pull the trigger the next time?

There better not be a next time.

They pulled up to the apartment. Although as soon as the motorcycle stopped, there would be another nightmare awaiting them.

"What the fuck?" Steve thought aloud upon greeting the Redfield's trashed apartment.

"I have a feeling this has something to do with Umbrella." Claire gritted her teeth after overcoming the initial shock.

It was surreal. Caution singed the atmosphere.

It was like the aftermath of how the SWAT team broke into people's houses in the movies.

By sheer luck, they had avoided the initial ambush. Although, it was clear that whoever was looking for them wasn't gone. The place was ransacked, furniture flipped and bullet holes in potential hiding spots.

The whole scene brought Steve right back to the day he and his father got taken to Rockfort. The air like a sack of bricks at the bottom of his throat, he heard his mother screaming.

He could feel ghost start to claw at his flesh cage, trying to escape to be anywhere but here. But as a person who had been conditioned to accept horror many times over the last several months, he was able to force it down in order to focus on the task at hand.

Claire knew that someone was after them, and escape from the apartment was going to be difficult if there was a chance they were being followed. Claire didn't want to fight, but that's what she was going to have to do.

First plan of action before anything else: Get to Chris's room. There was a handgun in the back of the drawer. She grabbed her friend's wrist and felt him very warily follow her into Chris's room.

As she predicted in her head, a shadow was going through her brother's things. A man in thick military fatigues, black from head to toe. It could be none other than Albert Wesker's Hive-Host Capture Force, and the objective still remained to capture the T-Veronica virus.

Claire and Steve pressed themselves on either side of the doorway.

Claire whispered over to him. "My brother has a gun in the drawer, I'll hold him off. You go get it."

Steve nodded in response. But before they could act, the man had noticed their presence before Claire and her friend had even knew they had been caught. He produced a combat knife, and Claire was able to push Steve out of the way and onto the ground before the blade went into his neck.

Claire and Steve were stuck staring up at the man, the glinting knife above them. Steve was first to act and tackled their attack in the gut and Claire took the opportunity to get the gun and a little red box of bullets. With it, she took out the dark clad man with a hastily aimed shot.

The struggle had created a lot of noise and their presence was bound to be noticed now.

Coming out of the room, Claire judged 5 more pairs of footsteps in the apartment but at least the pair were armed.

The footsteps were coming down the staircase, rapidly approaching.

Before Claire could shoot the gun, Steve took hold of the wooden chair at the computer desk and threw it, hitting the first unlucky soul and the whole chair fractured into parts. The strength of the blow was savage and knocked the man into the other intruders.

"Boo yah!" He celebrated, although Claire gently reminded him that they were far from out of hot water.

While the other four were stunned, Claire and Steve made their escape into the kitchen. The duo turned as soon as red dots appeared on their bodies. The three intruders were on the other side of the counter, and immediately opened fire.

The counter crumbling away in gunfire, Claire knew that it wouldn't be long until there would be holes in not just rock. Steve however, communicated that he had a plan with just his eyes. She raised a brow and Steve took Claire under his arm and leapt several feet into the air. The agony of his ankle and thigh was like white lightning crackling in his body, but it was escape or death.

Although Steve had no idea he could pull off such a feat, it felt familiar, almost natural. Claire was shocked at the development, but took the opportunity to aim the gun down and take out one more of the shadowy intruders.

Once Claire was safely on the ground, she didn't even have time trace her companion's movement as he lunged forward into a hail of bullets as if he was invincible. Tearing his own path into battle just like at Rockfort.

Steve was convinced he like one of the X men, or was living in a comic book or a video game, until one of the bullets pierced his shoulder.

It didn't affect him as much as it should have, and the teen knocked down one of the men with a rocket punch.

Claire watched on in awe, wondering where this sudden strength had come from. The monster strength, the hell of a jump all were traced back to the Veronica Virus.

He had been so drunk on his perhaps rediscovered power, that he hadn't the time to help Claire when she was snuck up on by one of the three remaining intruders. Claire looked back right as a punch connected to the side of her head, suddenly seeing stars. She started to fight back, but the blow to the head took a lot out of her to the point that she was left simply defending each punch and dancing around bullets.

He looked back to help her, but that was enough to get him pinned down on either side. He thrashed like a wild animal, his single minded objective was to help Claire. Not thinking anything about being locked up again, the roaring pain, or the injection in the one of the HCF member's hand. The target managed to jerk one of the men off of him with his monster strength although the injection from the other man was still coming for him.

The syringe shattered with an expertly thrown knife that had flown off the table courtesy of Claire. Only then did he realize how much danger there had been.

The last man standing dove with a shotgun, Claire grabbed the table for cover and without thinking Steve dove and caught Claire from behind and the two went out the window in an explosion of shattered wood and glass. Claire, who had been spared most of the impact took the gun and on reflex shot it a few times at the agent. She looked back though, seeing Steve unmoving on the ground.

"Hey!" He lost the color in his face, as the back of his shirt was painted with an ever growing red splotch from the neglected bullet wound.

He shouldn't have done that, especially in his condition. But she was silently grateful for it. With one arm using the gun to fend off the pursuers, Claire struggled off her sweater to put pressure on Steve's unzipping wound. She tried to stay as calm as she could as she once again stemmed the geyser of blood. Steve was still determined enough to rise from under her, in a wobbly stance. Claire could see it in his eyes that he was going to fight, but she put a hand on his bloodsoaked shoulder. "Just wait here. I need to get something for you, or else you're going to bleed out."

Claire eyed her motorcycle parked at the end of the alleyway, but glanced at Steve who was oozing red onto the pavement. She knew that she at least needed to bandage the wound again or one of them wouldn't make it out of here. Claire leaned her friend up against the chain link fence and placed the gun in his lap.

She crept into the window broken window. Immediately, she could hear footsteps, and was well aware that by the broken glass under her feet whoever was there could hear hers. It would take five seconds from the window to the kitchen counter where the medicine was, and at this rate it would be a game of speed rather than stealth.

She bolted, grabbing the gauze, tweezers, pain pills and green herb paste from the cabinet. But, right as she turned around she was face to face with a black helmet. She did the only thing she could with her hands full and her knee flew up, hitting the dark clothed man in the crotch. She heard an audible grunt as she made for the broken window. She was almost out, when she was yanked back by the collar of her shirt.

Steve groaned, roused by the noise and saw the vague form of Claire struggling. He grabbed the gun on his lap and started to stagger toward the window. He aimed at the black blob, but in his hazy light headed daze missed the mark.

Claire on the other hand saw the bullet whiz by and and took the gun out of his hands. With a swift movement she finished the job.

Claire cleared the window and went to her partner's aid, as his head swam from blood loss. "Stay awake please, just until we get out of here." After that was done, she gently placed her hand under his knees and scooped him up bridal style, and her knees wobbled. Hell, and he whined about _her_ being heavy when she stepped on his back to get that submachine gun ammo.

She ignored the pulling pain in her shoulder as she made for the motorcycle and as soon as she felt his grip around her stomach, they were off.

 _Sorry Sherry, our next visit might take a little longer._ Claire thought glumly, revving the motorcycle faster. She couldn't be sure that was the end of them. Any minute those guys could be right on their ass. She shoved the idea to the back of her mind. They were silent for a while, until Steve spoke up.

"Claire...I'm really sorry, I wanted to protect you... I messed up again. I'm just… always causing you trouble." He murmured, voice dragging its feet.

"Steve…" Claire hesitated, taking that all in for a moment.

"Yeah Claire?"

"It's not your fault. Don't sweat it so much." She looked back with a tight lipped smile. And he leaned against her back with a worn out smile.

Steve started to doze off as he watched a glowing halo formed behind Claire as the two of them rode against the setting sun. It reminded him of the angel on the jacket Sherry was wearing. It was cliche, but she looked like she was positively made in heaven.

They had been driving for a couple of hours. Claire was sure by now she had lost any potential backup that the Umbrella Agents might have if no one had come after them by now.

It was safe to stop for gas and some food. Man, Claire was looking forward to paying Steve back for the pancakes with her grandma's special Mac and Cheese recipe. Cold gas station chicken wrap would have to do it.

Claire saw a motel sign a little bit away and decided it was their only option , as the chill of February night began to set in.

Claire roused Steve awake and the two of them went up with to the counter of the motel. As Claire checked in, the woman at the front desk eyed the two with accusations of what a couple of teenagers would be checking into a motel for, but other than that they made it to the room without incident.

With Wesker's personal task force at their doorstep and being on the run, it was still up to Steve to try and lighten the mood. "Looks like you're gonna have to take a couple more 'sick days' from college."

"Yeah, thanks to our fanclub over there."Claire sighed. "I think I'm about ready to pass out." She pushed open the door to their room.

They stood at the edge of the room, thinking the same thing. One bed. Awkward...

"Oh." Steve said into the air. They looked at each other.

Before Claire could say anything, he took the pillow and threw it on the ground. "Ahem… uh Here, you take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No way! It's freezing down there!" Her eyes widened picking it back up.

"But-" Steve protested.

"It's fine. You know I don't bite." She said playfully, and helped him up.

She climbed onto the other side, and they were face to face. With the lights out, her face was nothing more than a curved silhouette, as mysterious and beautiful as the moon she was lit by. He looked away for a second being so close to her like this, he looked away with furtive embarrassment. Claire seemed to want to say something, so he looked up again.

When their eyes reconnected, he could tell she was thinking about something, but thinking of the right thing to say. She was thinking about how they had barely scraped out this time too, and how they had been through so much together.

And what had just happened over the last few days and last few she found her answer.

Claire's eyes shimmered in moonlight as they gently held Steve's. "You know at Rockfort, You were always talking about how reliable you are. Well, I want you to know that you can depend on me too and tell me anything, because we're friends."

Steve was taken aback by this sudden statement. But it made his chest feel so warm. The kind of warm that he had forgotten about for a long time.

He wanted to tell her those four words. The ones that were threatening to fly out of his heart. But he couldn't.

He said instead. "Thanks, Claire."

And they fell asleep to an uncertain tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil , Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please read and review!

It started with a creaking below the bed. Claire not so quickly dismissed it as someone checking in late at night downstairs.

She reassured herself. It's just _had_ to be a dream.

Since her time in the world of bioterrorism, the number of nights where she had been rudely awakened by remnant memories of rotted hands reaching for her, or monsters that defied logic, had dwindled considerably with the weekly visits to the school Psych Office.

But something gnawed at her dragging her half asleep mind into sensing something amiss.

Her friend hadn't gone anywhere, curled tightly in his sleep as if he forgot how much small his body really was since his transformation back into a human. He snored softly and peacefully and Claire can't help but smile.

She spent a few seconds in limbo before she hears a crack.

A white jolt of electricity from below. Was it just someone checking in downstairs or something more sinister?

It shocked her wide open to inky blackness and cold sweat on her brow, a visceral reaction to danger time on the battlefield had ingrained in her.

Upright in an instant; hands already gripped around metal and she finds comfort in the cool touch of Chris's handgun at her holster never left the redhead's body even as she slept. It doesn't take long before she's out of bed pacing about the room, scanning for danger.

She knew something is wrong for certain. Her gut wouldn't leave her alone. A moment of guilt seized her as she needs Steve awake, and shook his shoulder. "Someone's here."

He looked at her in curious detachment before a shot pierced the air, an arm creaked out from under the bed aimed at Claire. She narrowly dodged to the left. She was secretly thankful to the shitty box spring bed that alerted her to danger.

Their assailant emerged knife in hand as he charged the young woman. Steve's nerves are left crackling, his ear popped at the loud unwelcome noise. A scream comes from upstairs or somewhere. He can't tell for a few seconds.

The brunette however sprung into action with as much movement as his injured body would allow, over a landslide of pillows and blankets before he blindly tackled the guy in the dark, bringing him to the ground in a clumsy heap of bedding.

The knife and hand appeared, and ripped the fabric holding it, but Claire kicked the sharp object out of her attacker's hand. A head appeared out the same hole. Steve dived in and punched the man hard with uncontrolled strength making sure he was out.

"What the hell? Can't we do this after breakfast?" Steve quipped, sprawled on the ground. Claire can't disagree though, her whole body felt raw and achy despite the adrenaline push. The two tossed on their leather jackets, and Claire helped her injured partner throwing his arm over her shoulder. Then she winced as the movement irritated the fiery pain of the shoulder which had been dormant that night.

They slowly made their way down the stairs, Claire had the sensation that they were being watched. Then she spotted the source, a blonde woman in a purple dress at the vending machine at the bottom of the stairs.

Staring at them too long for comfort. She looked down at some kind of device then furtively glanced at Steve and Claire. "Yes, it's them. We're going to need backup."

The undercover agent pulled a knife from the bottom of stiletto and Claire practically has to drop Steve to the ground in order to defend herself. The shots rang out from her gun were almost like warning shots as the woman anticipated their path and dodged them.

Claire was left more on the defensive, parrying blows. This lady was good she'd give her that, maybe even better than Chris. She could have taken her evenly if she hadn't been slammed violently and dragged against a wall by a giant eagle.

She wanted to forget the raw searing sensation in her shoulder just for this moment, but her body would not forget.

The redhead could no sooner think that then she found her back against the railing, and in the next minute the world went out spinning out of control as she got hurled off onto the ground below. Claire was left seeing stars and Steve was left defenseless.

The brunette, pushing past the limitations of his own injury lurched after the woman to defend himself from the end of the knife. Without as much effort as he thought he grabbed the woman's arm watching the color darken as she yelled out. She pulled out a gun with her other hand pointed it below at his temporarily unconscious companion, and he kneed their enemy in the stomach before she could use it, with his vice grip around her wrist feeling her go limp.

Claire, who had recovered enough looked on in shock and awe to see someone she was struggling against go down with such ease. That was way too much strength for someone injured like he was.

The woman wheezed on the ground, barely holding onto consciousness. "Just what I'd expect out of a monster like you. At the rate it's going I might not even need a second dosage of T Veronica . I'd just say that you're a monster in a human mask. You may have been fighting the virus now, but judging by the progress it'll take over again soon enough. At that point, we may not even have to kill Claire Redfield you'll just do it for us."

"S-shut the hell up!" He stopped in his tracks, cold and paralyzed, as if a snake was wrapping around him, constricting him. His greatest fear brought up again. He felt frost in his veins, and clenched his fists feeling them grow frustrated and hot. His voice raw and exasperated now.

"I'm human! Damn it! " He said so more to convince himself than her, but by then she was out cold. Then it echoed to no one.

Claire meanwhile took the device the woman dropped. It had a map and a red dot pinging dot on it, presumably their location. Had they slipped some kind of tracking into her bags or into Steve's clothes? She could check later, they needed to get out of here before reinforcements arrived.

They took off in a noise that was loud enough to drown out the thoughts of what the hell that woman said which then transitioned to what it might mean for him and Sherry. Claire's bike roared up a dark hill. The high beam searing into the darkness revealing a straight line of trees ahead up the steep curving hill. As she took off faster and faster she was unable to detect the subtle beeping coming from the bottom of her vehicle.

"Claire!" Steve was first to hear the noise as its beat quickened.

"What are you-" Claire couldn't even finish when her companion threw them both off, they tumbled onto the road.

They stopped rolling just in time so Claire could see the reason for the sudden stop drop and roll. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her beloved Harley went up into a blaze of steel and smoke.

\ A tiny black box skittered at her feet. Some kind of bomb. It must have been that woman at the hotel who attached something to the bottom of her bike as a plan b.

She reminded herself that she didn't have time to mourn her bike but the sadness still sunk its teeth into her. Her companion didn't say anything. Both of them were still for the moment, taking in the loss of their only transportation like they were watching an abrupt viking sendoff, the flames licking the night sky. Claire's trusty steed arrived in Valhalla alright, but not when she expected it to die.

The young woman collected herself first, and they continued on foot both acknowledging that it wasn't the best time to make a crappy quip.

After a while though, Claire couldn't hear Steve's footsteps behind her and whipped around.

"Claire." Steve sighed, his voice wobbled. "I need you to tell me that I'm not a monster."

"What? Steve! Why would you say that?" Claire was taken aback all of a sudden.

"I'm just thinking that I'm like Sherry. What if this strength is a sign of something? Like the whole regenerating thing for Sherry? What if I hurt-" He shivered, not wanting to finish that sentence any more than Claire wanted him to.

"Stop it! You won't." She desperately tried in reassurance.

"But if I do," He quietly and hesitantly continues, then shakes static into the air between them. "just put a bullet in me. Alright?"

I've sworn to protect you, always have always will. You matter because you're the only one I have left. He thinks, but doesn't say it.

He knows she'll argue against him. She doesn't need protecting, but his request was made out of fear, fear of what that guy from Umbrella knew and what he didn't.

"Steve, please don't talk like that anymore." Claire wants to object to his plea, but remembers her promise to Chris. A similar one.

She didn't know if he was going to listen to _her_ request though . The clouds shifted over the moon and night obscured his face. They kept walking up the winding hill.

Adrenaline hazed their minds and dulled the pain of their wounds, urging them to stumble forward in a blind dash up the twisting concrete hill in the dark. Claire knows they're walking in the middle of the road, but her body is too tired to do anything about it. She's tired and her limbs feel like hundred pound weights. In the back of her mind she longs for her crappy college dorm with the whole of her soul.

In another fantastic feat of the day, Claire's body moves on its own and she finds enough speed to shove Steve out of the way before he gets swallowed by the light. In the fraction of a second it takes for the image of the car to fade they end up in a sloppy pile of limbs and exhaustion, panting on the side of road. Steve immediately felt a deep rush of embarrassment, and sputtered out a small thanks. Although he grew concerned when she didn't move. The first thought he had was maybe she had gotten hurt, and looked past her head seeing that the rest of her was okay. It took him a minute to realize that her attention was focused toward something more upsetting.

Steve for the very first time saw the horrifying red hot glow underneath his skin. "Ah!" Steve gasped lifting his stained yellow shirt to get a good look at the unnatural glow pulsating in his chest. A sack of bricks dropped into his stomach, he wanted to throw up. Instinctively, he scrambled away from Claire until his back hit the rough metal railing.

It reminded him vaguely of the blinking objective markers in the video games he used to play and brushed away the thought. Then he wondered why the ever loving fuck he would he even think of that.

Claire covered her mouth with her hands, her heart sank, pushed down by a hushed devastated gasp. Observing the thin device in her hand, she connected the dots. "What are we gonna do, Claire?"

She took way too long to answer him. "I-I'm not sure. All I know, is that we have to keep moving."


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil , Capcom, Nintendo or anything else.

Please read and review!

Thanks for waiting for this update! I got kind of busy and I was also taking some time to experiment with my writing style. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

The path ahead was obscured by darkness. Their path to freedom and what came ahead.

Steve was silent, but his heart threatened to gallop out of his chest and with it came a burning sensation. Tight and constricting. Will he morph back into that thing soon, and kill Claire? (Will Claire have to kill him?) Or will they get caught by Umbrella being tracked down by that thing in in his chest.

There's a part of him that felt he shouldn't think about that kinda thing if he knew what's good for him.

As if on cue, Claire is the first one to break the silence. She let out a dry cough, a white cloud of february cold above her hung for a bit. "Hey Steve,"

"Howdy, Claire." He met absentmindedly.

Her tired gaze met his. "I still feel like I don't know a whole lot about you. You know, the you before the island and all that."

"Really?" Steve was taken aback, his full attention captured. His heart thudded. Someone as cool as her wanting to know more about him? An ember kindles in his cheeks.

Without his knowledge, a smile blew up over his face, eyes practically becoming stars in the dark.

She let out a small chuckle, taken aback by his excitement."Yeah, tell me a little more about yourself."

"Well," He thought back, hand under his chin, and that trademark shit-eating grin of his lit up his face. "I was the fastest runner on the track team. I won bunch of medals and trophies and stuff for it! Always got first place if you're curious, but I guess you could tell by how fast I could run to your rescue, huh Claire." There was a beat of silence before she couldn't hold in a snort.

They rounded the top of the hill which seemed to lead to a park overlooking a city. The lights were still like stars beaming in the night

"What's your school like?" Steve beams curiously.

. "It's college." She began, there was warmth in the way she thought about her college dorm reverberating with music when her roommate was out. The shitty cafeteria food and microwave macaroni on weekends. Going out with friends on adventures past midnight. B-rated horror movies on weekends. Her roommate's annoying boyfriend who slept over on weekends. Stuffing one too many people in the car that one time to go to the mall. Regular college kid stuff.

Steve caught himself hanging onto her every word almost staring at her, and looked away when he thought it was too long to be staring thinking he was being weird.

"How about your friends at school? What are they like?" Claire suddenly realized she had been talking for a long time. She tried to keep the conversation going.

"I don't have a lot of friends at home, but they're good ones. Like uh Frank, Anthony and how could I forget Tom? That guy's basically like a brother to me!" He stopped, a melancholy fog of nostalgia sat for a moment. He hadn't talked about the guys in forever, much less thought about seeing them ever again. A world away. "We played video games on the weekends and hung out and got into all kinds of trouble. They're great guys though! We ran track together, and well they always ate my dust." Steve blurted trying to stop his thoughts from halting his speech.

Of all the feelings he had on Rockfort, homesickness was one of the most common. And most frustrating. It gnawed at his chest again. His brow furrowed.

A passing thought flit in that can drag him out of the awkward silence.

He piped up. "Speaking of siblings, what's Chris like?"

"Chris? Oh well, he's nice to me and really tries to get along with everyone he meets, but he's the type who doesn't back down." She began." Well, neither am I because I always wanted to be like him and all. He loves to be the 'Big Man' of the house. "

Then the light slowly lowered. "Our dad passed away when I was little, and he's kind of been raising me along with Mom ever since."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Steve frowned. Claire sighed.

" I love him to bits and do anything for him and I know he'd do anything for me too, but there's times where I just wanna punch him in the face!" She did a little uppercut for demonstration, the flashlight moved as it spotlighted her fist. "I know that he's six years older than me and all"

She paused doing a bit of mental math. ", well 5 years and 10 months technically, but I wish that he would stop treating me like a kid. I'm in college for crying out loud."

"Really? I wouldn't know being an only kid and all that." Steve said. "I've always kind of wondered, what it was like." A twinge of jealousy dug into his voice.

Claire was only half listening, as she dug hastily through her pocket. He had just reminded her. The movement catches Steve's attention. " I guess because we've been talking about family. I well- I've been meaning to give this to you but I wasn't sure if there was going to be a right time. And uh, here."

She handed him a thin film. A photo of his family. His eyes grew wide for a moment as he let out a sharp involuntary gasp. Steve clutched the film between his fingers, his hand shaking.

"I got it off of that woman who we fought on the staircase back at the motel." Claire spots a wooden bench and guides him to it, and they sit in momentary respite.

"Mom and Dad. It's stupid and cliche but you know." His voice cracks a little. His voice becomes older. " You don't really appreciate people until they're gone. My mom, she spoiled me really. She'd nag me all the time 'Steve you have to do your homework before you go to Tom's! Don't forget your lunch!" She could hear in his voice he missed being a normal kid, immature.

As he scooched as far he could from Claire on the bench, she put a hand on his shoulder. He let it stay, but he looked away as soon as he could start to feel his face scrunch up. Quiet hiccups escaped him, the beginning of tears began to form and were blinked away. He tried choking back all the emotion.

He sniffed pathetically, covering his face with his elbow. "I miss them so much." She moved her hand rubbing his back. "I know." They stayed like that for a little while until Steve finished with a couple of nervous coughs.

Side by side, they sat at the edge of the city drinking in the neon light. The stale frost of february dawn nipped at them, but their nerves were too shot to death to even take notice of the cold. Steve held the picture of his stolen family photo up into the mix of neon pink and natural light, bittersweet nostalgia settling on top of him like the time Frank's cat sat on his chest at the sleepover.

After a long silence. Claire piped up. "You know, when we're not in danger. I'd like to go on another one of these midnight walks. I feel like I learned a lot." A small weary smile creeps onto her face.

"About what?" Steve raised an embarrassed eyebrow. It sucked she had to see him like _that._

"About you." She says, the obvious answer that it is.

Getting to really know each other like this in the night where no one can see their faces and it filled him with something like hope. It was like watching silver peel off to reveal gold. She was no longer the hot babe the action hero like him had to get.

She was Claire Redfield, sarcastically funny, strong, thoughtful and kind. Someone who accepted him as Steve Burnside, not the action hero, but also perhaps vulnerable part of himself that he didn't like. And it made him want her more than ever, to be with her. To have that kind of light in his life.

Though, he knows he doesn't deserve her.


End file.
